On Friday, 3 October 2025, Experimental Cocktail Club (ECC) Chinatown reopens its discreet door on Gerrard Street, marking the triumphant return of one of London’s most influential cocktail bars. Fifteen years after it first introduced Londoners to its blend of secrecy and glamour, ECC reemerges with a complete reinvention—one defined by music, design, and an ambitious cocktail programme that promises to reassert its place in the city’s drinking culture.
A Space Reimagined
The redesign comes from Dorothée Meilichzon, founder of Paris’s Studio CHZON, whose cinematic interiors have shaped some of the world’s most iconic hospitality spaces. For ECC Chinatown, Meilichzon drew from the textures and symbols of its neighborhood: dragon-inspired patterns woven into fabrics and carpeting, bamboo, braided wood, mirrors, and a lush palette of purples, browns, and violets. The result is a plush yet modern den, stainless-steel gleam against scale-like upholstery, a space where guests are meant to lose track of time.
Music as a Second Spirit
The relaunch leans heavily into music as a central identity. ECC has been re-conceived as much a listening room as a cocktail bar. The weekly programme stretches from disco and ambient grooves at sundown to house, Amapiano, French Touch, and rock-inflected nights that keep Gerrard Street vibrating into the small hours. Live acoustic sets midweek offer intimacy, while Sundays end with analogue-inspired sessions celebrating hip hop, soul, and R&B vinyl classics. Select no-phone nights will encourage patrons to immerse themselves fully in sound and conversation.
A Cocktail Programme of Heritage and Reinvention
General Manager Timothy Falzon and his team have restructured the cocktail menu into four narrative chapters:
- ECC Classics: revivals of house signatures like the Saint Germain des Prés and the sparkling Old Cuban, anchored by custom Chinatown Bitters.
- Design & Place: drinks inspired by the bar’s interiors and location, such as Turmeric is the New Black (turmeric vodka, chamomile, Champagne) and Hay Jude (hay-infused cognac, beurre noisette distillate, bitters).
- Seasonal Rotation: debuting with the Sundowner Society (Ocho Tequila, plum, Aperol, lime, bitters) and You Make Miso Happy (bourbon, pineapple, miso, garlic eau de vie, lemon).
- Vintage Collection: aged spirit rarities including the De La Louisiane and a richly layered Vintage Negroni.
A deep list of French spirits and liqueurs rounds out the programme, ensuring a dual sense of innovation and tradition.
Late-Night Food by Jackson Boxer
ECC’s reinvention extends to its food offering, designed by Jackson Boxer. Two headline sandwiches—the French Onion Soup Croque and a Mortadella & Stracciatella—anchor a concise menu alongside charcuterie from Authentique Épicerie and cheeses from Neal’s Yard Dairy. Thought of as accompaniments rather than distractions, these plates embody ECC’s ethos of elegance and craft.
A New Era for ECC
“This is a pivotal moment for us,” says Founding Partner Xavier Padovani. “We’ve never reimagined Experimental Cocktail Club in this way before, and every detail has been carefully considered. People want great music, uncompromising cocktails, and effortless service. With this reinvention, ECC delivers all of that and more.”
Experimental Cocktail Club Chinatown officially reopens on Friday, 3 October 2025, ushering in a new era for one of London’s most storied bars.
For more information, head over to the official website.
